Matching $A$ with $F$ in long-range QFTs

Irreversibility theorems -- such as the $A$-theorem -- establish a hierarchy among fixed points of the renormalization group flow. The strongest thesis of this type of theorems would be that there exists a scalar function $A$ (generally suggested by the topological Weyl anomaly) and a positive definite metric $G_{IJ}$ in the space of couplings such that the renormalization group flow satisfies a gradient equation, $\partial_I A= G_{IJ}\beta^J$, in which case $A$ is locally monotonic along the flow. In this paper we consider the long-range multiscalar $\phi^4$ theory, a theory without a local energy-momentum tensor that is unitary in $d=2,3$ and that is believed to be conformally invariant at fixed points, and show that its renormalization group flow satisfies the gradient structure up to the third loop order in the coupling. We also show that $A$ and $G_{IJ}$ can be matched to the leading nontrivial order with the sphere free-energy $\tilde{F}$ and Zamolodchikov's metric $C_{IJ}$ of the corresponding conformal theory concentrating on the examples of the long-range vector $O(N)$ and hypercubic $H_N$ models. Our results imply a perturbative proof of the $\tilde{F}$-theorem at the leading nontrivial order. We conclude the paper discussing briefly whether this result should hold to the next orders in perturbation theory.